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Domestic obstacles to trade and transport in Nigeria and their impact on competitiveness (英语)

摘要

This note analyzes domestic obstacles to trade and transport in Nigeria and their impact on competitiveness. Among other sources, the note uses data collected during a field study on livestock and leather trade along the Lagos-Kano corridor, the main ... 更多显示This note analyzes domestic obstacles to trade and transport in Nigeria and their impact on competitiveness. Among other sources, the note uses data collected during a field study on livestock and leather trade along the Lagos-Kano corridor, the main trade route in the country. Despite the absence of an international border to cross, the costs, delays and uncertainties faced by traders within Nigeria and along this corridor are high. As illustrated in the case of cattle trade between the northern and southern parts of the country, the available evidence suggests that unjustified charges and barriers along the corridor increase transport and related costs by around 18 percent, lengthen transport time by up to a quarter and create significant risks for traders. Such trade transaction costs also make it harder for products from the north to compete with imported goods, which arrive directly by sea in the largest markets in southern Nigeria. Combined with interventions to enhance productivity and quality, reducing domestic trade and transport transaction costs could improve the competitiveness of Nigerian products such as meat more efficiently than the restrictive trade policy instruments currently in place, which have counterproductive effects. As argued in this note, a combination of investment in infrastructure and policy interventions can contribute to facilitating trade and transport within Nigeria. Reducing trade transaction costs is also essential to ensure that economic activity does not excessively concentrate in the Lagos area and that growth is shared with the rest of Nigeria. For instance, trade in cattle for domestic consumption and exports of leather are already important and growing economic activities in Nigeria, benefiting millions in the northern part of the country.
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